When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikes

Yes, this is nearly the perfect emergency preparedness book. Yet it features only occasional "how-to" instruction. How is that possible? Yes, you will learn options for making heat, light, and shelter; critical tips on hygiene and sanitation; even his justly famous material about dealing with the dead but Cody Lundin writes primarily about your most valuable asset when your usual options to last through your day are missing: Your intelligent perspective. You will need to do unexpected things in an emergency and no step-by-step instructions or lists of gear will trump the value of your prepared and flexible head. His book is more about guidance than directions; almost an encouragement manual rather than an instruction manual. This is a book about independence of thought and how that's not just an abstract idea but a force creating every action one takes -- whether or not there's a disaster in the offing. I urge you to read this book and to share its lessons with those you care about. What it offers should be taught in kindergartens, even though this book describes basic knowledge almost nobody today has.To be sure, Lundin (he pronounces it lun-DEEN, by the way) has an almost absurd amount of hands-on expertise with survival tactics and tools -- but not because he spends time surviving hardship, as do some special forces folks. Instead, Lundin has spent his entire life living what he writes about. If the grid goes down, Lundin and his family would have the same needs as you or I. It's just that he and they are already settled into providing for themselves. His books make one wonder if he has ever lived in what most of of us would think of when we imagine a house. It's easy get the idea he's only heard tales of air-conditioning and shoes but never seen them. But the "disasterous" situation you might fear being plunged into? That's everyday, happy, healthy life in the Lundin home. And, because Cody Lundin lives this way, he *cares* deeply about the choices that allow his life to flourish. This book is his way of sharing that.I'm re-reading Lundin's book for maybe the fifth time (in in my Disaster Kindle, along with a zillion maps, personal data, star charts, medical information, copies of personal papers... Lord! How I love my Kindle!) and I just realized I'd never written a review about this favorite of mine. Time to fix that...WHAT YOU WILL FIND IN THIS BOOKGreat emphasis on human psychology and physiology in emergencies. Concern that you be prepared in your head for things that would otherwise make you go right off your nut. Repeated emphasis on the priorities of keeping your body alive and doing the same for those you love. "The Rule of Threes (or Fours)": That you need air to live more than three minutes, body temperature control to live beyond three hours, water to survive beyond three days, and food to get past three weeks -- and everything else is optional. Painstaking guidance toward ensuring your loved ones don't fall to the food- and water-borne diseases that loom dangerous for those who can't get help.And no small amount of humor.WHAT YOU WILL *NOT* FIND IN THIS BOOKSupport for the gear-centric thinking in most other survival/disaster/grid-fleeing literature. This book is not about firearms, SUVs, radiological protection, post-apocalyptic finance -- or anything else "post-apocalyptic, really. Lundin understands that humans can expect times of difficulty. Such episodes are really easy to get into (Japan, Haiti, Katrina, 9/11). We always have and always will have such periods. But human motivations to gather together and create culture will not go away and a distracting focus on stockpiled guns or gold or gasoline will not address keeping any of one us alive unless we have air, bodily thermoregulation, water, sanitation, hygiene, and then, if more than a few days go by, food. Cody Lundin wants you alive and well. He's a big, tough guy. But he does not care if you have big, tough toys.WHAT'S LESS-THAN-GREAT ABOUT THIS BOOK?His writing style can be an acquired taste. Reading Lundin is like listening to someone get people's attention standing before a survival class in the field. His writing is full of eye-rolling, sometimes square, teacher-type quips and god-awful puns. This man loves his alliteration maybe a bit too much. That said, he's just being himself and he does get his point across, so I just roll my eyes and put up with his style. That style is echoed, as well, in Russell Miller's totally goofed-up illustrations. (The book's Kindle version doesn't have the size and clarity to do Miller justice.) Even Christopher Marchetti's photos are kind of twisted. You can almost see Lundin smiling through his words, clearly aware he's messing with you to generate groans in his audience. He takes a moment in defense of his goofiness as a teaching tool and he teaches much like some of my teachers in the military -- and they were some of the best I've known.SHOULD YOU READ IT?Well, certainly. Because, whatever the particular options in your emergency plan, most of what Lundin has to say is on the subject of clear, independent thinking and keeping your basics covered so you survive to *have* additional options.WHO'S IT INTENDED FOR?The target audience for this book is the suburb or town dweller who may find the grid off-line for several days. The target reader is going to weather the trouble in his home rather than bugging-out for the wilderness. Lundin emphasizes preparedness and pre-existing cooperation with neighbors.WHO'S GOING TO BE DISAPPOINTED BY THIS BOOK?If your situation predisposes you to difficulty in remaining in your home during an emergency, you will want to want to augment this book with other information about taking to the road. I live in very urban Brooklyn, New York. I have a peculiar background of some outdoors stuff with formal education and careers in military, techie, industrial, financial, engineering, and science pursuits. Along with the weird resume, I've a life-long passion for technological history and how things go wrong. I was at the World Trade Center during the first week after 9/11. In other words, I think about this stuff. I expect Brooklyn could keep me cared-for for about a week. If the mess could last longer than that, I'm picking up by bug-out bag and leaving town. This is where a portion of Lundin's specific advice would benefit from additional literature. Nevertheless, his book would remain highly valuable.If you anticipate fending off or partaking in violence, or otherwise severing your ties with social ethics and civilization, this is not the book for you. HOWEVER, it does have a good, no-BS chapter about self-defense and how learning to protect yourself means potentially confronting the need to destroy another person. The book offers information about all-out, kill-or-be-killed combat and specifically advises learning such tactics if survival is your aim, rather than your participating in sparring matches and taking lessons to build a lifestyle (as is the case with some martial arts disciplines).And if you have a stick up your butt and no sense of humor, you might not get what he's saying.Yet what he's saying is important. Please read this book, especially the hippie crap stuff at the beginning, what he calls "head candy". Be encouraged to think for yourself. Remember that, when an emergency comes, it's your own inability to keep your priorities straight that's most likely to kill you, not a lack of ammo.

This is an awesom survival instructional.There are hundreds or thousands of survival books in publication; however many of them are not worth reading. Some of the not recommended books are written by people such as Dave Canterbury, Tony Nester, Franklin W. Dixon, Mors Kochanski. The Marine, Ranger, Army guides, etc.Cody Lundin, Mykel Hawke, Randy Gerke, J. Wayne Fears are the best of the best IMHO.Am I entirely happy with this book? HECK NO. I have one little nitpick. He recommends using 2% iodine solution to disinfect water.Iodine is very good at killing bacteria, cysts, Protozoa, and viruses in water. Then what's the problem?Two things.a. Iodine is not safe for people with no thyroid or poorly functioning thyroids.b., iodine disinfects the water bur makes the water taste nasty and people may choose to limit their consumption of water and not be properly hydrated. I wish he had recommended using unscented Clorine bleach. Bleach is an effective route. Everyone is accustomed to Clorine in tap water, and is not dangerous to people with malfunctioning thyroid glands.Where this book shines is helping people develop a survival mind set and developing one's will to live.The second thing Cody helps develop a strategy to help people start thinking outside the boxSuch as using non lubricated and spermicide free condoms in a survival kit as backup storage device for treated water.Lightening your pack by choosing multi purpose items. I will demonstrate one of my multi purpose items. I make an ointment to heal skin injuries. It is madr with petroleum jelly and a concentrate of three herbs; I can also use a little ointment on a cotton ball for a fire starter.An emergency blanket can be used to keep you warm, used as a signal mirror to alert rescue, and line a container and use it as a solar oven.Simply reading a survival guide is not enough. You need dirt time with the techniques you are learning to own the skills so you will KNOW what to do when you find yourself in a survival situation.I took a survival course in 1973 and even though I have been a survivalist for 41 years; I still read this book, and the survival guides by Randy Gerke, and J Wayne Fears every single year just to keep survival concepts fresh in my mind.Let me spell out the rule of 3 on survival.You can live for three seconds if you panic.You can live for three minutes without air.You can live for three hours without shelterYou can live for three days without waterYou can live for three weeks without food.If you find yourself in a survival situation go over the rule of 3 to see what you have instead of only looking at what you don't have and panicking.It might be something like this.I'm scared but not panicked and about to run off a cliff.There is plenty air.I need to rig up a shelter to keep the sun off or make a lean to to keep the wind or rain off. Or get a fire startedI need to find some water but I'm ok for now.What do I see in my environment that I can use for traps. Do I have anything I can use for fishing line or snare wire.Good I have a roll of dental floss I can use to keep my teeth healthy, use as sewing thread. Use as cordage in rigging up a shelter, use for fishing line, and use as snare wire if I can get the game animal off the ground.I was not saying don't use 550 paracord, or bank line. Just demonstrating how something as simple as a small roll of dental floss in your survival kit can be used for five different things.The lighter you can go with your pack the farther you can go in more comfort. George W (Nesmuck) Sears would go out for weeks at a time and his pack and canoe together only weighed 28 pounds. His cedar canoe weighed 10 1/2 pounds.My base weight oh my pack before adding food and fuel weighs only 12 pounds. This includes my water filter, sleep system, survival/first aid kit, spare clothes pack cook kit, fire kit knives, assorted cordage 550 paracord, roll of bank line, dental floss. 1 oz bottle Clorine as a backup to my filter, etc. Alcohol stoves. One for boiling and another for simmering or baking.As I said earlier the more multi purpose items in your pack the lighter your pack can be.

Its a good book

There are tons of things to think about in this book and solutions to them. I bought this being used but it showed up with very few signs of usage at all! Very happy with it both contents and condition

I've been looking for a preparedness book for a long time, and I read a good review on this one and decided to buy it! Best decision ever!!!Amazing book, easy to read for people like me, with no experience in survival and all these SHTF preppers stuff. Very positive book, not that doomed approach to disasters.Even if you don't prepare your family for a disaster, it's a great book to realize that we create our own happiness.I'm really impressed with the author and it's too bad that there is no Cody Lundin in Portugal.Money very well spent!!!

Explica sobre fisiologia humana sob todo o tipo de stress, e como podemos lidar com as emoções para enfrentar este tipo de situação. Dá dicas sobre os fundamentos dos equipamentos para comprar sendo mais do que um guia de compras de equipamentos.

Après le succès de "98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive", Cody Lundin continue dans la même veine, réaliste et documentée, en insistant cette fois sur le "comment".Des différentes façons de rendre l'eau potable à celles de gérer ses déchets, le parfait dosage de bases théoriques et d'exemples pratiques assaisonnés d'une pincée d'humour permet une lecture agréable et un apprentissage efficace.

Good and explains what needs to be known. It's not all about friction fire and debris shelters. Plus I like codys writing style

Lleno de consejos prácticos muy útiles. Todo el mundo debería tenerlo